Many pesticides (e.g., insecticides, herbicides, bactericides, fungicides, etc.) and other substances, impart phytotoxic responses, i.e., subtle to distinct hindrances to the physiological functions, to plants. Such substances that result in phytotoxicity may generally be referred to as phytotoxicants.
Phytotoxicity resulting from a variety of sources and scenarios plague the agricultural industry. For example, plant toxicities may result from accidental drift of a pesticide onto a plant, accidental spraying of a plant with a toxicant, planting into soil that has been contaminated with a toxicant, and the like.
Regardless of the source or scenario by which a phytotoxicant is contacted with a plant, phytotoxicity can have severe adverse consequences, including serious economic consequences, to both the affected plant and the grower. For example, phytotoxicity may result in crop losses, forced removal and replanting of crops, plant death and in certain instances may render the soil unusable for crops for prolonged periods of time.
Accordingly, there continues to be an interest in the development of methods that at least mollify the effects of a phytotoxicant on an exposed plant, regardless of the source of the phytotoxicant or scenario by which the plant has been exposed to the phytotoxicant.